Fruit-picker&#39;s receptacle.



PATENTED FEB. 3, 1903.

- J. J. JONES. FRUIT PIGKERS REGEPTAOLE.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. '7, 1901.

N0 MODEL.

Mim'esses NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN J. JONES, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

FRUIT-PICKERS RECEPTACLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 719,810, dated February 3, 1903.

. Application filed February 7, 1901. Serial No. 46,442. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN J. JONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los'Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Fruit-Pickers Receptacle, of which the following is a specification.

Some of the objects of this invention are as follows: to balance the load upon the body of the picker, so that he can carry the loaded receptacle with the greatest ease and comfort, also to hold the receptacle in the most comfortable and convenient position and always ready for use.

This invention is applicable for use with either a sheet-metal receptacle or with a bag of flexible fabric, and in the case of applying it to a bag an object is to provide superior, durable, and firm means for holding the top end of the bag rigidly open.

Another object is to provide for holding up the lower open end of the bag by means which will not be caught by the limbs and branches of the tree.

2 5 This invention applies to receptacles open at the bottom and furnished with means for closing and opening the bottom as required to retain or to discharge the fruit.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my 0 invention as applied in a fruit-pickers bag.

Figure I is a perspective view of my fruitpickers bag in position for use. Fig. II is a plan of the upper end of the bag with belt attached. The shoulder-straps are omitted 3 5 from the view. Fig. III is a sectional detail showing the construction of the frame for the upper open end of the bag with the sheetmetal band reinforcement. Fig. IV is a sectional detail showing mode of applying the sheet-metal reinforcement on the outside of the fabric mouth of the bag.

a indicates the receptacle or container, the same being in the specimen shown an ordinary open-ended bag, which is made ofany suitable fabric commonly used for fruit-pickers bags. At the upper end of this bag is provided a frame comprising a wire I), bent into an oblong form, the rear portion of which is inwardly curved, as at o, to fit against the body of the fruit-picker, and is also bent into two upwardly-projecting loops 1 2. The front portion of said wire frame is rounded outwardly and bent into'four loops 3 4: and 5 6, two of which-viz., the loops 3 4project upwardly, and two-viz., loops 5 and 6-pro- 5 5 ject forwardly. The forwardly-projecting loops are each formed with a narrow neck 7, close to the main body of the frame, and the cuter portion 8 forms a button over which can be buttoned the eyes d in the flexible 6o suspending devices e, which are attached to the lower end of the bag proper, a, for holding said lower end up and closed. The upper end of said bag is secured to said frame by being lapped over'the same and stitched, as at f.

Two bag-supporting straps g h are provided. The rear ends of said straps are fastened to and extend from the upwardly-projecting loops 1 and 2 of the rear side of the frame, and the straps g h are crossed upon each other at the back, and the front portions of said straps extend over the frame and are fastened to the upwardly-projecting loops 3 4: at the front of the frame.

2' indicates snap-hooks fastened to the front ends of the straps g h, respectively, for readily attaching and detaching the front ends of the straps to and from the loops 3 and 4=-that is to say,one end of said shoulder-straps is fastened to a rear loop 1 at one end of the frame and to the front loop 4 at the other end of the frame, and the other strap is fastened to the rear loop 2 at said other end of the frame and to the front loop 3 at said first-mentioned end of the frame.

j indicates a belt fastened to the rear side of the bag behind the frame to go around the body of the wearer.

In order to give great stability to the frame 0 and to make the same more comfortable to the wearer and also toincrease the life of the fabric at the top of the bag, I provide a sheetmetal band k, which is fitted around the outside of the wire frame and isbent inward 5 over the wire I) of the frame and extends downward from said wire, as clearly shown in Figs. III and IV. In Fig. III the sheet metal is inside the fabric of the bag. In Fig.

IV it is outside the fabric. placing the sheet-metal reinforcement outside the fabric is to form a shield for the fab- An object in 10o ric to protect the same from wear at the line where it is bent over the wire frame and also to protect the fabric just below the top of the frame against being torn and worn by the' limbs and thorns of lemon-trees, &c.

The arrangement shown in Fig. IV is also preferable, as it forms a binding to clamp the fabric firmly around the wire frame.

The upper portion of the sheet-metal band is cut away at the wire loops to allow it to fit around the necks of said loops and to allow the loops to stick out from the frame, as shown in the drawings, and the upper end of the fabric of the bag is also cut away and made to fit over the frame and to fit closely around the necks of the loops.

It may be desirable where no great weight is to be carried in the fruit-pickers bag to not use the sheet-metal band.

It is to be understood that though this invention is especially designed for fruit-pickers it may also be used in the gathering of material other than fruit and that I reserve the right to modify or add to the construction of this bag to suit such use without deviating from the general spirit of the invention.

- p indicates rivets which fasten the metal band It and the fabric ct of the container firmly together.

In practical use the fruit-picker will place the shoulder-straps g h over his shoulders, respectively, allowing the frame of the apparatus to come to about the level of his waist at the place desired, and then the belt j will be fastened around the waist, and the device is ready for use. The top of the bag is held firmly against the body by the belt, and all annoyance from the excessive swinging of the bag when containing fruit is therefore avoided. Any movement of the bag which would cause injury to the fruit by friction and bruising is avoided. Furthermore, the bag is perfectly supported and the load equalized by the arrangement of shoulder-straps and belt shown,and the rigid frame, with its rigid upwardly-projecting loops,to which theshoulderstraps are fastened, is held firmly in place and holds the mouth of the bag in appropriate position. The buttons 5 6 are not subject to catching upon the limbs, so as to interfere with the movements of the fruit-picker. The belt, by holding the bag close against the body, avoids all danger of the bag swinging away from the body and catching over limbs in the act of picking fruit.

It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the use of the forwardly-projecting buttons 5 6 and that it will not avoid my invention to substitute other means for holding the suspending devices 6, which support the lower end of the bag, to close the bag.

Diflerent varieties of fruit and different degrees of ripeness require or permit of different ways of handling the same. With firm fruit a greater depth of bag can be utilized than with softer fruit, and the fruit-picker in actual practice will regulate the size of the bag by buttoning the appropriate eyelets of the flexible connections 6 over the buttons to give the appropriate depth of bag required.

What I claim,and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The combination with an open ended bag, of a frame comprising a wire bent .into an oblong form, the rear portion being inwardly curved to fit against the body and bent into two upwardly-projecting loops and the front portion being rounded outwardly and bent into four loops, two of which project upwardly and two of which project forwardly, the forWardly-projectin g loops being formed in a narrow neck and a wide front portion to serve as a fastening for suspending devices attached to the lower end of the bag, the upper end of said bag being secured to said frame.

2. The combination with an open-ended bag, of a frame comprising a wire bent into an oblong form, the rear portion being bent to form two upwardly-projecting loops and the front portion being bent to form two upwardly-projecting loops and two forwardlyprojecting loops; the forwardly-projecting loops being formed with a broad outer portion and a narrow neck between said outer portion and the body of the ring, the open-ended bag being fastened at its upper end to the frame; suspending devices fastened to the lower open end of the bag and furnished with eyes to fit over the forwardly-projectingloops; and two straps, the rear ends of which are fastened to the upwardly-projecting loops of the rearward side of the frame and the forward ends connected with the upwardly-projecting loops of the forward side of the frame.

3. In a frnit-pickers bag, the combination of a frame formed of a wire bent into an oblong body and bent at the rear side of said body into two upwardly-projecting loops and at the front side of said body into two upwardly-projecting loops and two forwardlyprojecting loops; a sheet-metal band conformed to the wire frame and having its upper edge bent over said wire frame and thereby secured thereto, thus forming a head at the upper edge of the band; an open-ended bag having its upper end looped over the frame thus formed; suspending devices fastened to the lower open end of the bag and furnished with eyes to catch over the forwardly-projecting loops; and two shoulderstraps crossed upon themselves and one end of one of said straps being fastened to the rear loop at one end of the frame and to the front loop at the other and of the frame, and

the other strap being fastened to the rear loop at said other end of the frame and to the front loop at said first-mentioned end of the frame.

4. The combination with an open-ended bag, of a frame to hold the upper end of the bag open, loops being connected with the frame, two at thefront side and two at the on the front side of the frame for holding rear side of the frame; a belt fastened to the said flexible connections. rearside of the bag to go around the body of In testimony whereof I have signed my the wearer; two straps, the rear ends of which name to this specification, in the presence of 5 are fastened to and extend from the loops of two subscribing witnesses, at Los Angeles, I5

the rear side of the frame and the forward California, this 28th day of January, 1901.

portions extend over the frame and are con- JOHN J. JONES. nected with the loops at the forward side of Witnesses: the frame; flexible connections at the lower JAMES R. TOWNSEND,

10 open end of the bag; and fastening devices JULIA TOWNSEND. 

